Colourful US politician Sarah Palin has declared she thinks she could beat President Barack Obama if she ran for the White House in 2012.
It is the clearest sign yet that the former vice-presidential candidate is planning to launch a bid to be America's leader.
Mrs Palin made the claim during an interview for an ABC network programme called Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People.
The former Alaska governor said: "I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family."
Veteran interviewer Walters asked: "If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?"
"I believe so," Mrs Palin replied.
The politician, the darling of conservative Americans and the so-called Tea Party movement, has been at the centre of a blaze of publicity in recent weeks.
The eight-part TV series coincides with a 16-stop tour she begins next week for her second book America By Heart.
Mrs Palin also talked about her presidential prospects in an interview with the New York Times.
She told the paper's Sunday Magazine: "I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here."
Mrs Palin said "proving my record" would be her biggest hurdle.
"That's the most frustrating thing for me, the warped and perverted description of my record and what I've accomplished over the last two decades," she said.
But polls suggest she would face an uphill battle to win the White House with favourability ratings way below those of Mr Obama.
The president suffered a serious setback in mid-term elections two weeks ago with Democrats losing control of the House of Representatives and just clinging on to the Senate.
A host of other Republicans are also pondering a run for their party's 2012 nomination.
They include former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, outgoing Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour and South Dakota senator John Thune.
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